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Jon Huntsman: Dems will turn lazy

Former GOP presidential hopeful Jon Huntsman had tough words for the other political party in an interview posted Sunday.

“The one thing that will be as sure as the sunrise tomorrow is, Democrats will become lazy, will take their eyes off the ball,” he told the Daily Telegraph, a British publication. “We’ll see more crony capitalism in Washington because the state will grow, and as the state grows, so do all the ancillary and subsidiary functions of lobbyists, K Street advisers, stuff Americans hate.”

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Huntsman, the moderate former governor of Utah, also called for a rebranding of the GOP, according to audio posted by the newspaper.

“It’s really tough to define Republicanism today because we don’t have a leader, and we don’t have a platform,” he said. “We have a platform that came out of the last convention, but that isn’t the platform that’s going to take us to victory going forward, in the sense that we need to be a party that speaks to shoring up our fundamentals around economic competitiveness, and freedom and liberty for everybody.

“We can’t be known as a party that is fear-based, that doesn’t believe in math,” he added. “In the sense that, to win, you gotta be the party of addition, not subtraction and division.”

On the subject of the potential for another presidential run, Huntsman deflected.

“We’re not spending full-time look at some opening that we can fit in,” he said, also noting that he has a conservative record. “That kind of plays out organically, and if it does, people feel that you’re possibly competitive in a new, sort of freshened-up Republican Party, then maybe it’s worth thinking about, but as of now we’ve got other things going on.’

Huntsman lives in a dream world, but it's one I'd love to visit. The reality is the GOP is just beginning their subtraction and division, and it seems as if even he is joining it by generalizing the Democratic system.

That said, his generality is true. Dems don't seem to have a heart for spending cuts. If they did, they'd be calling for a gutting of military spending which is desperately needed.

Huntsman: “The one thing that will be as sure as the sunrise tomorrow is, Democrats will become lazy, will take their eyes off the ball,” he told the Daily Telegraph, a British publication. “We’ll see more crony capitalism in Washington

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You are very likely quite correct Jon Huntsman. Your prediction is what will be the inevitable conclusion of Democrats not having an opposition to keep them on their toes.

So how about Republicans getting their act together and start acting like they are willing and capable of governing?

That would be a good start.

And by governing, I mean America, all of America, not just the bible thumping, holy rolling parts of America, or the 2% richest Americans, I mean all of America.

If Republicans can actually get to a place where they start to look like they want to, and can govern this whole country, that would be enough to keep Democrats from getting lazy and comfortable.

I listened to the audio of Huntsman's interview with the Daily Telegraph on the link. Very interesting. Jon Huntsman was the most qualified candidate in the 2012 GOP field and should be one of the party's leading voices today. He makes more sense than any of the other Republicans whose names are often mentioned as potential 2016 contenders. Our party's leadership and the conservative media/commentators need to listen to Huntsman. We're only going to win future elections if we move in Huntsman's direction on the issues.

One other interesting comment he made is that a recovering economy will help Obama's Democratic successor in 2016. Thus, the economy probably won't be one of the GOP's bread and butter issues in 2016. A lot can happen in 4 years, but if Congress and the president get their act together on the fiscal cliff issues, then Huntsman is probably right in his prediction. It's time for the GOP to embrace Jon Huntsman. We should be listening to the one guy who actually had a chance of winning the 2012 election, if only he could have made it past the extremes of the primaries.

John Huntsman is one the only Republicans that I'm willing to listen to today. That's because he's just about the only Republican who retains a grasp upon reality. The rest of his party mates have vaulted to the hyper-right where they indulge in unreal practices like - to use Huntsman's words - not believing in Math.

I think that Huntsman is onto something when he says that the Democratic Party will get lazy if it wins tax increases. The Dems DON'T have a zeal for limiting the growth of government. That's why we need a REAL conservative party: As opposed to today's GOP which has become an anger club: A place were all the anti-somethings go: Anti-gov't (Tea Party), anti-immigration, anti-gay marriage, etc.

Governor Jon Huntsman should not be slamming his party in a British newspaper and expect to be nominated as the 2016 Republican candidate. Governor Huntsman is no moderate. He governed Utah as a pro-gun, pro-business, small government conservative and was successful. Unlike Romney, Huntsman is no phony liberal.

What? Huntsman the primary wuss is reincarnating as a tough-talking man? Or does he just sound better on paper? Because on the debate stage and on the campaign trail (when he deigned to visit it), Huntsman seemed tentative, limp and ineffectual.

I think it's funny that Huntsman is called a moderate. Maybe compared to Bachmann and that goofy group of primary candidates. But subtract the 40 or so nutjob-crazy Tea Party Republicans in the House and the handful in the Senate and Huntsman is VERY conservative. Typical Republicans - confusing style over substance in their candidates.

Huntsman's comments are what any freshman poli/sci major would say. He's as bad and as out of touch as Romney is/was.

Reply to Bubba Shawn : ALL Utah governors are the same and work as you describe. It ain't hard. A monkey could do that job and the power lies with the state legislature. The Repub gov always simply rubber stamps everything. And they're all Mormon. Always.